in a flock of geese, they take turns on who leads when flying. Let's say there's a flock of canadian geese flying in a V formation. There is not one true leader. Answer Save. When animals evade predators, there’s safety in numbers. John, I really enjoy reading about your pigeons. "Pigeons know more than we think - and think more than we know" ~ John D. [URL=http://pets.aretop.com/members/TAWhatley], Sick or Injured Pigeon and Dove Discussions, VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter, Suite 901, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. Scientists have worked out how flocking birds solve the "social dilemma" of who leads the flock. What a wonderful opportunity you have to observe and interact with them while they can remain wild but still enjoy the contact with you. A team lead by statistical physicist Tam á s Vicsek of Eötvös University in Hungary outfitted a trained flock of 13 homing pigeons with tiny GPS receivers that could determine … Receive news and offers from our other brands? © Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. When they fly in the v-formation, for instance, the lead bird works the hardest. In treetop flocks, the leaders are usually chickadees. It's a very good life for them but why they "missed" it for so many years, I don't know. What's more important: answers, or questions? While not all birds migrate, those that do usually head south how far south depends on the particular species, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. The one up front will fly until it gets tired, then drop back and a different one will then take the lead. The model determined that birds collectively switch from a flying state to a landing one, during which group action overrides the individual landing intentions of each bird, according to the study, published in the September issue of the New Journal of Physics. how do birds know how to fly together in a flock and who leads? I know it's not important, really, but I am curious about it. I don’t know how they do, but they do! Receive mail from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors? Original Flock. Hint: they don't just follow a leader or their neighbors. V-shaped formations help birds conserve energy, since each bird flies slightly ahead of the other, there is less wind resistance. Once the first few showed up, word traveled fast, and it wasn't long before the flock size grew to what it is today. Researchers propose a new method of studying coordinated behavior in … When you see a mixed flock moving through the trees, it may seem as if they’re all acting independently. I see the pigeons nested above street, under the Interstate; but when the Interstate was built in the 60's or whenever--what made these particular pigeons move there? Finally they hired a professor at Zurich University to study the problem and he concluded that pigeons maintain a pecking order within their flocks and police their own turf. Email it to Life's Little Mysteries and we'll try to answer it. There was a problem. in a flock of geese, they take turns on who leads when flying. Come join the discussion about breeding, shows, racing, performance, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more! Birds share leadership. With adults it is opportunistic and more to do with the feed that they find than with the flock itself. Stay up to date on the coronavirus outbreak by signing up to our newsletter today. from observing our flock,there are definatly birds who seem to be"leaders"(milk,caramel log,forcepoo are 3 of ours)they are always 1st to come to check out food and once they come in,the rest follow,also when flying around,these birds take lead(milk and forcepoo are male,caramel is a female)the dominant birds have their own"perching"place(on my shed and wash pole)the submissive and younger birds "line up"along the roof waiting for some kind of pigeon signal to begin eating, some days we have "strangers"who visit for a feed,including a striking black/white/grey pigeon with black head,im sure he is a fancy pigeon of some sort. I just wish I was aloud to visit to see the amount of banded birds that stop there , its like a pigeon paradise if you know what I mean, in our area we have a railway station which a few of them have esablished nests(i live 2 mins from station),i came home today to find some regulars looking in my window,some perched on washing poles and a couple on my fence.we have a lot of woodpigeons too but they tend to be less tame and a bit more reserved. To keep things fair, birds take turns being in the front, with each bird moving to the back when they get tired, according to the National Park Service.